Possessive adjectives indicate ownership. Although they express the owners of the nouns they modify, they must match the gender and number of the nouns they describe, not the gender and number of the owners.
There are two kinds of possessive adjectives: The shorter forms are usually placed in front of the noun, and the longer forms follow the noun. The former are listed in Table
1 .
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TABLE 1
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Possessive Adjectives (When in Front of a Noun)
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|
Person
|
Possessive Adj.
|
Person
|
Possessive Adj.
|
|
yo
|
mi, mis
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras
|
|
tú
|
tu, tus
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras
|
|
él/ella/Ud.
|
su, sus
|
ellos/ellas/Uds.
|
su, sus
|
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Remember that the possessive adjective must match the noun being owned, not the owner. Once you decide to use the adjective
su, only make it plural if it is in front of a plural noun—no matter how many people own the noun. If a family owns a car, “their car” is written
su coche. If a man owns many cars, “his cars” is written
sus coches.
Table
2 can help you understand the Spanish equivalents of English possessive adjectives.
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TABLE 2
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Possessive Adjectives in English
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Person
|
Possessive Adj.
|
|
my
|
mi or
mis
|
|
your (if you =
tú)
|
tu or
tus
|
|
your (if you =
Ud. or
Uds.)
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su or
sus
|
|
your (if you =
vosotros or
vosotras)
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vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, or
vuestras
|
|
his
|
su or
sus
|
|
her
|
su or
sus
|
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our (if we =
nosotros or
nosotras)
|
nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, or
nuestras
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The pronoun
su is used to mean his, her, their, and your. The pronouns
él, ella, and
Ud. share the same conjugated form of the verb as well as the same possessive adjective. If you (
Ud.) own a book, “your book” is written
su libro. If you (
tú) own a book, “your book” is written
tu libro. Notice that the subject pronoun
tú has an accent and means “you.” The possessive adjective
tu has no accent and means “your.” There are four forms of
nuestro and
vuestro because they end in -
o and, thus, must change to match the number and gender of the nouns they modify.
The long form of a Spanish possessive adjective is used when it is placed after the noun. In Table
3 , notice that all the long forms of possessive adjectives have gender endings to match the nouns they modify. Use the correct gender and number of the possessive adjective to match the noun it follows.
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TABLE 3
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Long Form of Possessive Adjectives
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|
Person
|
Possessive Adj.
|
Person
|
Possessive Adj.
|
|
yo
|
mío, mía, míos, mías
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras
|
|
tú
|
tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras
|
|
él/ella/Ud.
|
suyo, suya, suyos, suyas
|
ellos/ellas/Uds.
|
suyo, suya, suyos, suyas
|
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In English, the possessive changes when it follows a form of “to be” (such as, “is” or “are”). For example, “
my book” becomes “the book is
mine.” In Spanish, the long form of a possessive adjective is used after the linking verbs
ser or
estar or when an article precedes the noun being modified.
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mi pupitre
(short)
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my desk
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el pupitre
mío
(long)
|
my desk
|
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El pupitre es
mío
(long)
|
The desk is
mine.
|
|
(long, after a form of
ser)
|
|
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tus pruebas malas
(short)
|
your bad quizzes
|
|
las pruebas malas
tuyas
(long)
|
your bad quizzes
|
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Las pruebas malas son
tuyas
.
|
The bad quizzes are
yours.
|
|
(long, after a form of
ser)
|
|
|
nuestro horario
(short)
|
our schedule
|
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el horario
nuestro
(long)
|
our schedule
|
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El horario es
nuestro
|
The schedule is
ours.
|
|
(long, after a form of
ser)
|
|
|
sus canciones (short)
|
his songs/
her songs/
their songs/
your (formal) songs
|
|
las canciones
suyas
(long)
|
his songs/
her songs/
their songs/
your (formal) songs
|
|
Las canciones son
suyas
. (long, after a form of
ser)
|
The songs are
his./The songs are
hers./The songs are
theirs./The songs are
yours (formal).
|
|
Did you notice that the
nosotros/nosotras and
vosotros/vosotras do not have a short and/or a long form?
The following examples highlight the difference in how the two types of possessive adjectives, which are basically equivalent, are used. The longer form puts a little more emphasis on the possessor than on the object possessed.
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mi barrio =
el barrio mío
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my neighborhood
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tu vecina =
la vecina tuya
|
your neighbor
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nuestro despacho =
el despacho nuestro
|
our office
|
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vuestra piscina =
la piscina vuestra
|
your (plural) swimming pool
|
|
su habitación =
la habitación suya
|
his, her, their, or your (formal) room
|
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Antonyms and Synonyms
Adjectives and Comparisons
